VANCOUVER — By the time the 2019 National Hockey League Entry Draft concluded, a player with New England ties could be seen all over the board.
The first one to be taken at this year’s event, which was held June 21-22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, was left wing Matthew Boldy, who was selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild.
Boldy, a 6-foot-2, 196-pounder from Millis, Mass., totaled 81 points (33-48-81) in 64 games this past season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team.
He’s a creative skater with an excellent shot who’s especially dominant low in the offensive zone.
“I describe my game as a skilled power forward,” Boldy said. “I’m someone who plays below the dots and uses his body but does it with a lot of skill and doesn’t rely on one or the other. I’m able to combine both together.”
NTDP U-18 coach John Wroblewski compares Boldy to former NHL ace forward Marian Hossa, and adds that as forceful as Boldy is offensively, he’s equally talented defensively.
“He’s a truly unique commodity in that he’s going to play the 200-foot game and be able to do something dynamic at both ends of the ice,” Wroblewski said, “whether it’s a stick lift in the defensive zone that you marvel at or a toe drag and a shot that goes bar down from the top of the circle.”
Goaltender Spencer Knight, who was plucked with the next pick by the Florida Panthers and was teammates with Boldy at the NTDP, noted that the Wild are “getting a guy who can bring it every night.”
“He’s so consistent and such a good player — shot, hands, vision,” said Knight, a Darien, Conn. native. “Everything about him is big. He’s a very good leader, too. They are getting a heck of a player, that’s for sure.”
There’s no doubt that the Panthers also are getting a spectacular player in Knight.
The top-ranked North American goaltender in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, Knight, 6-4, 193 pounds, is considered by some scouts as the best netminder the NTDP has ever produced. This past campaign in 39 contests with the U-18 club, he had a 2.36 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and two shutouts as he tied the single-season NTDP record with 32 wins. He set the NTDP record with 59 victories in 78 games over the past two seasons with the U-17 and U-18 squads.
Knight reminds scouts of Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price because of his poise in net and his ability to rarely be out of position.
Those traits reflect the best goaltending advice he’s ever received.
“Don’t let the highs get too high, or lows get too low,” Knight said. “Sometimes stopping the puck is all you have to do.”
Knight will be making saves next season at Boston College, where he’ll be joined by Boldy.
“I wouldn’t want to be going there with any other goalie,” Boldy said. “He’s unbelievable at what he does. He’s the best in this draft by a lot. The way he carries himself and handles himself as a person is something you really admire, and I’m really looking forward to going to BC and seeing what we can do there.”
Eleven Americans were selected in the first round, including Jack Hughes, who became the eighth American to be drafted first overall and the fifth player out of the NTDP to be selected with the first pick. In total, eight players were selected directly from the NTDP in the first round, seven of which came in the first 15 overall selections. The eight NTDP first-round picks established a new program and NHL draft record.
The first local to hear his name called on the second day of the draft was defenseman Jayden Struble, who was chosen 46th overall by the Canadiens.
Struble, 6-0, 205 pounds, registered 40 points (10-30-40) in 28 matches with St. Sebastian’s School this past season. A superior skater who can generate offense, he also toes the legal line with his tenacity and physical play.
He was surprised — and grateful — to be drafted by the Canadiens.
“I talked to some other teams a little bit more,” Struble said. “But I couldn’t be happier with Montreal.”
Struble, a Cumberland, R.I., native, is excited at the prospect of playing in a pressure-packed hockey market such as Montreal. He’ll also have no issue thriving.
He played multiple sports growing up, including basketball, baseball and lacrosse, and as a first baseman with the Cumberland Americans, he played in the 2014 Little League World Series.
“If you can play in front of that many people when you’re 12 years old, you can do it now,” said Struble, who’s committed to Northeastern and will play next season with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League. “I’m not really a nervous kid, so I’m just going to embrace the challenge ahead of me, and I think it’ll work out.”
Growing up, Struble liked the Boston Bruins and their star center Patrice Bergeron. When he revealed this during his interview with the media following his selection, he chuckled and added, “That’s kind of awkward, but now Montreal is my new favorite team.”
Zachary Jones was the next prospect with New England ties to be nabbed when the New York Rangers selected him 68th overall.
The 5-10, 172-pound defenseman from Richmond, Va., recorded 52 points (7-45-52) in 56 games this past campaign with the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm. He had played the three previous years at Selects Academy and was the captain during his last season there.
“Playing at (Selects) was awesome,” Jones remembered. “I wasn’t really a big name going in there. We had guys like Joel Farabee, Emilio Pettersen. I went in there and was like, ‘I’m going to play my game,’ and it worked out. I got to develop. I grew a ton — literally and mentally — and it worked out for the best. I loved it there. I loved South Kent. It’s going to be a home for life for me. It’s my home away from home, for sure.”
A mobile defenseman who’s excellent on his edges and is efficient and active with his stick, Jones, who’s committed to UMass Amherst, made the decision to go to Selects because he knew its former hockey director, Devin Rask, from playing spring and summer hockey.
“He talked me into it,” Jones elaborated. “To go there was a big choice for me. It was the only school I talked to, so I thought I might as well go there.”
The next player with connections to New England to be plucked was 5-11, 190-pound center John Farinacci, who’s a Harvard commit.
A Chatham, N.J., native who totaled 33 points (12-21-33) in 16 contests this past campaign as the captain at Dexter School, Farinacci was selected 76th overall by the Arizona Coyotes.
Reflecting on his time at Dexter, the recent graduate noted, “It was huge for me to get a good confidence level.”
Farinacci continued, “Playing with (coach) Danny (Donato) was awesome, too. He had that tough love for me. He was never easy on me, but he gave me the love when I needed it. It was really good for me.”
Twenty picks later at No. 96, Tyce Thompson proved that the third time can be a charm when, after being bypassed in his first two draft-eligible years, he was selected by the New Jersey Devils.
Thompson, a 6-1, 178-pound right wing from Oyster Bay, N.Y., recorded 25 points (8-17-25) in 42 games this past season as a freshman at Providence.
“First-year eligibility, second-year eligibility, I wanted to be picked,” Thompson said. “Things don’t always happen. To hear my name called today is pretty special. You can look at (being skipped over twice in the draft) a couple ways. You can pout, but I felt going into Providence I had something to prove. I thought the year went well as a team and personally. And that helped me be here today.”
Thompson said he has gotten better — and bigger — each year since he was first eligible to be drafted.
“I grew up a lot. I put on some weight, which helped me and my play. I’ve just become more confident and more of an all-around player each year,” he said. “Playing in the USHL (with the Dubuque Fighting Saints) prepared me for college. And this past year, playing against older guys and bigger guys, has made me take steps in the right direction as far as my game goes.”
With the 97th pick, the Detroit Red Wings selected Ethan Phillips, a 5-9, 150-pound center. Although Phillips is a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native, he spent 2½ seasons at Selects, before concluding this past season with the Clark Cup-winning Sioux Falls Stampede.
“Everything we had down there (at Selects prepared me for the next step),” asserted Phillips, a Boston University commit who totaled 43 points (16-27-43) in 50 matches with the Stampede. “On off blocks we could go down to the rink and skate for an hour in between classes, and that really helped a lot. Just being able to take advantage of the coaches we had and all the support we had there was huge.”
Two slots later at No. 99, Worcester, Mass., native Cade Webber was nabbed by the Carolina Hurricanes. A defenseman, Webber spent this past season at Rivers School, where he tallied 26 points (12-14-26) in 29 games. He not only boasts a large frame at 6-5, 205 pounds, but also skates exceptionally well. He’s committed to playing for BU, starting with the 2020-21 season, and will play this fall for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
With the 101st overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks selected defenseman Henry Thrun of Southboro, Mass. Standing at 6-2, 188 pounds, Thrun totaled 37 points (8-29-37) in 64 contests this past campaign with the NTDP U-18 club.
“I’m a two-way defenseman who can chip in offensively and defensively,” said Thrun, a Harvard commit. “There’s not one mold of a player I fit. I can fill any role the team needs.”
Another defenseman who made New England proud this past season, Marc Del Gaizo, was chosen 109th overall by the Nashville Predators. From Basking Ridge, N.J., the 5-10, 188-pounder registered 29 points (13-16-29) in 41 games as a freshman at UMass Amherst this past season, helping the Minutemen advance to the Frozen Four title game.
The next two players with connections to the region who were drafted — Cooper Moore and Braden Doyle — also are defensemen.
Moore, a Greenwich, Conn., native who’s 6-1, 175 pounds, was taken 128th overall by the Red Wings. He notched 31 points (13-18-31) in 28 matches this past campaign at Brunswick Prep. A University of North Dakota commit, Moore is bound for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs this autumn.
Doyle, who’s from Lynnfield, Mass., was selected 157th overall by the Los Angeles Kings. This past season at Lawrence Academy, the 5-11, 162-pound BU commit totaled 29 points (5-24—29) in 28 games.
The streak of blueliners being taken was broken when the Devils, with the 158th overall selection, picked right wing Patrick Moynihan.
A 5-11, 183-pounder from Millis, Mass., Moynihan recorded 46 points (19-27-46) in 64 contests this past campaign with the NTDP U-18 team. He’s considered a hard-working, momentum-setting forward, and he’s bound for Providence this fall.
The next player with local ties selected was Tomas Mazura, who went 162nd overall to the Edmonton Oilers. A 6-2, 170-pound center from Pardubice, Czech Republic, Mazura, another Providence commit, is coming off a season in which he tallied 54 points (14-40-54) in 37 contests with Kimball Union.
Five picks later, goaltender Dominic Basse, an Alexandria, Va., native, was chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks. A huge netminder who’s 6-6, 179 pounds, Basse played in 23 games at Selects this past season and finished with a 1.63 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
In the seventh round, Aidan McDonough became the last New Englander selected when the Vancouver Canucks called the Milton, Mass., native’s name with the 195th overall pick. This past season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, McDonough, a 6-3, 190-pound left wing who’s committed to Northeastern, totaled 42 points (21-21-42) in 50 matches.
Earlier this year, McDonough described himself to the New England Hockey Journal as “a power forward who can score goals, make plays and create offense.”
He added, “I like to play physical and play hard, and I’m a shoot-first player. I like to shoot the puck and I like to get in front of the net.”
The final prospect with ties to New England to be plucked was goaltender Filip Lindberg, who was selected 197th overall by the Wild. Boasting a 6-0, 180-pound frame, Lindberg, who’s from Espoo, Finland, went 11-3-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and four shutouts in 16 games as a freshman at UMass Amherst.
